Barcelona very close to reaching agreement for Coutinho
Liverpool's midfielder, a close friend of Neymar, could join Barça to bolster the midfield. According to RAC1, the Catalans already have an agreement in place with the playerChelsea - Barcelona U - 19 live: UEFA Youth League final
Philippe Coutinho now knows that Barcelona are serious about signing him this summer and the Catalan club have stepped up their operation to bring the Liverpool player in to beef up their midfield. Local sports press Sport and Mundo Deportivo have been reporting Barça's intention over the past few days and club sources have confirmed to AS and Cadena SER that coach Ernesto Valverde has given the green light for the club to proceed with an operation which will certainly not be cheap for Barcelona.
Barcelona preparing to come back with new bid for Coutinho
Liverpool officials are waiting, with relative calm, to receive news from Barcelona. Raúl Sanllehí, CEO in Barça's technical department, is no longer with the team in the United States while Technical Secretary Robert Fernández and Albert Soler did not travel with the Blaugrana expedition from New York to Washington.
Jürgen Klopp has stated that Liverpool are not planning to sell Coutinho, one of the team's most creative players. Klopp insists that the Merseysiders will resist all attempts to lure the player away - however much money Barça are prepared to throw onto the table. The operation would involve a figure of between 80 and 90 million euros. According to Catalan radio RAC1, Barça have already reached an agreement with Coutinho. However much truth there is in that we don't know, but it is looking increasingly likely that Barcelona will shortly be opening negotiations with Liverpool...
